This invention relates to Short Message Service (SMS) in telecommunication systems. More specifically, the invention relates to a method of identifying false Short Message Service (SMS) delivery reports.
Enterprises often use a messaging platform to push bulk SMS messages to their customers, such as to the handset of a telecommunications subscriber. Following the transmission of an SMS message to a customer, the messaging platform provides the enterprise with an SMS delivery report, which indicates whether the delivery of the SMS message was successful or whether it failed. The enterprises using the messaging platform rely on the SMS delivery reports to understand the status of the delivery of their SMS messages. Depending on the type and content of the SMS message, accurate message delivery reporting is of great importance. For example, an SMS message notifying a customer of false credit card transactions would be of great importance in detecting fraud. Thus, it is paramount that enterprises that use messaging platforms must be provided with accurate and genuine SMS delivery reports. Furthermore, services that rely on the reported status of delivered/undelivered SMS messages cannot function properly when the SMS delivery reports convey inaccurate or false information.
The incidents of aggregators and operators generating false successful delivery reports are not uncommon. The false successful delivery reports misrepresent the delivery information by indicating that a message was delivered to the recipient, when, in fact, the message was not delivered. Currently known methods of detecting false SMS delivery reports are unreliable and inefficient. Because false SMS delivery reports typically mimic the structure of genuine SMS delivery reports, it may difficult to discern genuine reports from the ones that are false.
One of the techniques for identifying false delivery reports involves measuring a conversion rate based on the SMS recipient's action responsive to receipt of the SMS text message, for example by clicking a button on a website, entering text, etc. A major flaw of this method is that it is only applicable to use cases wherein the SMS text message instructs a recipient to physically respond to the SMS message. Another technique involves using probes, wherein SMS text messages are sent to known valid and/or invalid test phone numbers and detecting a false SMS delivery report when unanticipated results are observed. This method, however, does not enable the enterprises to identify in-and-around messages delivered through back door SMS routes that are not sanctioned by the mobile phone operators. Also, there is a need to quickly identify occurrences of false SMS delivery reports whenever aggregators engage in such practice.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is an improved system and method for identifying false SMS delivery reports that overcomes the prior art deficiencies.